Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Weekly Wrapup.....2 in 1 issue

Ok so we did a little bit of work last week and a little bit of work this week but mainly we just enjoyed our time as a family. Daddy was off for four whole days back to back and we are leaving tomorrow for our early Christmas with my family in North Carolina.

We worked through the Button Box and pulled out my box of buttons and sorted, categorized, described and counted in different ways like by 2's, 3's, 4's and so on. I also brought out my old Wrap Ups from when I was learning my multiplication tables and Jakob was thrilled to see that he could do most of them. We will begin the formal memorization of multiplication tables in Dec as he seems ready and confident enough for the task.

He had his final Inventions class and made a couple of models out of recyclable materials. He came out with a brain scanner, a two headed snake, and a stack of papers of things he wants to invent. These were just the things he thought of in this class. His teacher was thrilled to see he already had a notebook of inventions started. This class really brought to light for him how all the pieces of machines work together. So much fun!

We read a lot about the Native Americans, our Progressive Phonics books (Hazel has her own now and is reading!), Made place mats out of paper and wove them together to demonstrate how the Native Americans made the things that they needed. We also learned that mashing deer brains into the hide is an essential part of tanning. Who knew? :-)

In Scouts Jakob learned knot tying. He is a self proclaimed professional square knot tier. lol

Most of the rest of the week we cleaned, packed, organized, and cooked. Now we are off to make our final preparations for our flight tomorrow. Have a great week!

Confessions... Not so fat Tuesday

Man this whole not getting on the scale thing is liberating and frustrating at the same time. But I have another week and a half.

This week I have tried to keep up with my tracking of food. My "requirement" is to log 3 days a week. This way I begin to get into the habit and don't feel overwhelmed and quit (not that I have EVER done that before)

I was amazed to see how inconsistent I was with eating. One day I would eat way over my allowance and the next way under. I didn't even attempt to log Thanksgiving. I have also noticed that I am a plate cleaner. My kids plates to be specific. If they don't eat it the I do and they know I will. Case in point today Hazel brought me her half eaten biscuit cause she was full. Don't most kids just throw it away? Not mine. Give it to Mommy she will eat it. *sigh*

I discovered another cool tool this past week though. If you are using Sparks people then when you are finished logging your food it asks you if you want them to "calibrate" or break down the foods you eat. You can immediately see where you are getting most of your calories from, how much protein you are getting and things like that. They have various pie graphs with calories, fats, vitamins and minerals etc. Its really good to see how all of this rates with one another. We as a whole are a less meat eating family. This means that I generally only cook a meal with meat in it once a week. This began as purely a budget friendly move that turned into a preference. Although I cook mainly veggies I was surprised to see on the pie chart how much of my food is carbohydrates. I have since made a more conscious effort to have protein in our diet in the form of beans, dairy, soy, and of course meat. The goal is to begin to even that pie chart out and then work on lowering the amount of carbs present.

Well. That's my nugget of knowledge for the week. Workouts stalled to nill since I gave my knee a rest. Mike and I have promised one another we will run while in North Carolina next week and I have already packed my hand straps to have a go with the punching bag. Happy Not so Fat Tuesday!!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Homeschool Goals For December

Seems I was a bit overzealous in what I thought we would accomplish last month. We never made it to a full out study of the Pilgrims, mainly just a discussion on who they were and why we celebrate Thanksgiving. Our focus was mostly on the Native Americans and reading books about them. We also never accomplished any extra inventors, but that's ok. Jakob had a blast with his inventions class and I am sure we will revisit this in the future. Everything else we hit.

So here are this month's Goals

Science: Weather- how to read a thermometer, tracking weather, names of clouds, reading weather on a forecast, climate vs weather, any other boyscout requirements. I am also hoping to get to Stars and Constellations, but it is the Christmas season....

Language Arts: Reading various storybooks on the birth of Christ, Where Saint Nick comes into play, the story of the Candy Cane, The Christmas tree, and so on. I also want him to focus on point of view and rewrite the Birth Story from the eyes of a random character. This we will work on all month, but I have a skit that I want to read to him from Joseph's view that I think he will find interesting.

We have also been talking about parts of speech and I want to fine tune that knowledge by creating posters for nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. I plan to hang them up and we can add to them as we learn new words. (This will also help with spelling so I don't have to spell out loud every word)

Reading- We will continue with Progressive Phonics and begin focusing a lot more on reading cues with punctuation.

Spelling- Will be taken from the words learned in Progressive Phonics and any vocab learned

Social Studies- Being that it is Christmas, Language Arts and Social Studies will mingle. This means I want to look at how Christmas is celebrated in various parts of the world. We will also explore the meaning of the Winter solstice and how that is celebrated. (If you can't tell I like to party :-> ) These are also personal interests of mine and may totally flop when presented but we will see.

Geography- He will Continue with his 50 states discovery at the Library.

Math- We will continue going through Marilyn Burns' suggestions for math as well as officially begin putting those multiplication tables to memorization. There will also be loads of exploration with measuring as we make our holiday goodies.

Bible- We will be following Hubbards Cupboard and their suggested activities as well as our own family traditions. Did I tell you this will be the first year we celebrate at home? SOOOO very excited. Some of these "traditions" will be new to the kids but they are a mixture of memories from my husband and myself.

Art-This will be sufficiently satisfied with Hubbards Cupboard Christmas suggestions

Now looking at all of this is really a lot. Especially since we leave Wednesday to go visit family in North Carolina for a week for an early Christmas. Oh well, it will keep up busy as I am sure the weather will not cooperate for being outside. I mean its 37 degrees right now. BRRRRR!!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Confessions... Not so Fat Tuesday



Yes its a day late again but just ignore that. That's what happens when you plan to get something accomplished in the evening and then have unexpected guests.

So, I have no weight to report since I'm taking a break from the scales. I ran 11.8 miles last week! So excited about that. I have run a total of 34 miles so far this month. I was hoping to break 41 like I did last month but my leg is hurting pretty bad from I think a pulled muscle so I am giving it a rest for the rest of the week. I plan to supplement with beating up my Wavemaster and some Yoga.

The Big news comes in what I have learned this week. I have begun tracking my food. Just writing it down at first to see what it is that I am eating. Then I go to Sparkspeople.com and input the food to see where I am caloric wise. Man has this been an eye opener! I am consuming a load of calories! The first day I tracked was Sunday when I went to a friend's house and had a tea party. Man oh man snacking on those goodies and the French Bread and dipping oil REALLY added up. It put into perspective for me what my eating unawares is costing me.

The next day I wanted to focus on doing better and I did. Eating that is. I found out what people mean by drinking their calories. I hardly ever have anything in the house other than water and coffee and on the weekend we have Diet Drinks but calorie wise those are all extremely low or free. Enter the Egg Nog. I love Egg Nog. As a family we drink as much of it as we can because its only in the stores for such a short period of time. Until I logged it. A serving of Egg Nog has approximately 180 calories. Ok fine, not great but fine. Do you know what a serving is? 1/2 cup or 4oz Do you know what that looks like in your glass? I didn't. Here let me show you...
That's a juice glass. The short ones that come in the box of glasses see?
When I saw that my jaw dropped. That's it? That's a serving? My glasses look more like this...
I had two of MY servings on Monday so that's actually 4 servings of Egg Nog. In case you don't feel like doing the math that's 720 calories! 2 glasses of Egg Nog in a one day period!!! Crazy!

So do I go nutso and restrict myself to a ridiculously low calorie goal? No. I also found this week a site that tells you how much calories you much ingest to maintain your current weight. Go Here. On the site it tells you that to lose a pound a week you must burn 3500 calories less than what you're body requires. That's 500 calories a day. And if you are doing exercise even less. Totally a doable situation. Sparks people doesn't recommend you lose more than 2 lbs per week so I am going to try and be continuously aware of eliminating the necessary calories. That means I can still eat. I'm a big girl so going from what I eat to stay this weight (well over 2,000) to say 1200-1500 calories was difficult. Just cutting 500 seems more doable. I know that I am still learning so I am not going to punish myself if I go over. But I am enjoying all the new information. Makes me feel like this is really achievable. :-)

Friday, November 19, 2010

Weekly Wrapup- Nov 15-19

Ok This week has been fun for us and rewarding for me as a mom. Sometimes you just need weeks like that to reaffirm that you are doing the right thing.

Calendar time- We actually got to this a whopping three times this week. Kids still love it. I'm bored. I have to find something fun to add in there. Plus side Jakob is really starting to understand and appreciate the value of learning to skip count and has told me how it has helped him in his math multiple times this week.

Math- Marilyn Burns is a flippin Genius! We read One Gorilla and How Big is a Foot this week and worked out group adding of more than 4 numbers (like 15+12+13+16+18) and how to break those numbers down and make them more manageable. We also worked on converting measurements by measuring things with our own feet and then measuring our feet, and then figuring out how many ACTUAL feet that is. Super fun, especially since he got to make Mom lay down on the cold cold floor.

Science- We attempted to make recycled paper. It was fun while it lasted but in the end it stuck to the pan and tore. I was bummed, Jakob says we should try again next week. Love that kid.
Step 1: Tear up Paper

Step 2: Pour in water and make mush


Step 3: Figure out the best way to dry paper so it doesn't stick and rip (you're on your own there)

Social Studies- Lots of reading and discussions about the Native Americans. Reading traditional Poems, looking at their Calendar System in comparison to ours, and beginning discussions on Longhouses. We also talked about how some tribes communicated with drums as signals as well as using them for ceremonial music. Then we made drums out of a salt box and an Oatmeal Box and jammed up the day with our own beats. Jakob also experimented making his own drum signals (meaning he tapped out the syllables and made me try to guess what he was saying)

She dances to the beat of her own drum... with crayons.

Beginning his picture story for his drum. "An arrow pierces through Day and Night"

Writing- We have had discussions about whether he feels ready to take a stab at cursive again. I am worried since last year he would cry and scream everytime he brought home writing practice from school because he couldn't make it look just right. We agreed we will wait until the New Year. So instead he wrote a letter to his oldest friend (whom he still thinks that he will marry someday) in Guam. We edited it and rewrote it. I was thoroughly impressed with the length of the letter (a full page) as this is usually a toughie for him.

Hazel discovered a couple of weeks ago that she knows how to write her name and is writing it on everything. Sometimes are more legible than others but still. Today she called me downstairs frantically and wanted to show me what else she figured out. How to write a lowercase "e" she was super proud. So was Momma.




See the "e"? And of course the "H"

Scouts- They had a visit from a Police officer who talked with them about his really cool job, how much he LOVES coffee, and fingerprinting. Jakob loved it!

Inventions Class- This week they learned about flying and what makes things fly and did various experiments with paper planes, cylinders, and twirlys. From what I can gather there was a "BOOM" of some sort with one of the experiments but he was so excited he couldn't find the words and just ran off flying his papers.

Miscellaneous- You could call this Art, but art is more of a inspired part of our day. We do things was we see the need there. This week there was a need to keep the kids at the table while I took a phone call concerning an accident my Dad had been in (Thank goodness he is fine). I sometimes pick up books at the library to leave around for Jakob in case he might be interested an this week's winner was a how-to draw sea creatures and forest animals. Kept BOTH kids at the table for a good 30 min. I actually had to put a limit on the paper, they were just so excited by the ability to draw these things!

Jakob- Angler Fish


Hazel- Deer... I think :)

Well, that's our week how has yours been? Don't forget to head on over and check out what everyone else is up to at...
Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Confessions.... Sometimes she knows more about this than I do

This week brought with it a peace of sorts. Probably a storm calmed in my own soul that allowed me to appreciate all that has been happening around me. And my children have utterly amazed me this week.

Case in point Hazel:
The week began with her earnest requests that I teach her to read.

Um ok you sure?

Yes I need to read Mommy. Learn me now please.


While most people I have talked to have been all excited for me that my not yet 4 year old is asking to read, I was terrified. I had decided a while back that I wanted her to really focus on the job of being a kid and that there was plenty of time for formal instruction. So I dropped any planning for her. She could participate or not no biggie. I just knew this would be the best for her. Of course she countered with requests for work pages and specific things for her to do (amid all the playing and having fun of course).

And then she asked me to teach her to read. I was so scared not because I have any doubts of her ability, or her readiness, but my own. I fear that I will get caught up in the process and end up teaching it out of her. Why I'm not sure but this is my fear.

So I asked her if she wanted a reading book like Jakob. She replied, "Yes Mommy, that's how I learn to read!" So I went to Progressive Phonics and looked to see what they had and printed her the first Alphabettii book. She immediately wanted to get started. So that night we read a little. She got that letters made sounds but not too much that they all make a word. I was becoming frustrated, she kept telling me to read it again. Finally we decided to go to bed.

Today she wanted to "learn from her Reading Book" again. Really? Didn't you have enough last night? In all honesty I put her off most of the morning having her help with chores and cleaning up around the house. She was happy with that but each time would say, "Now can we learn?" I felt horrible. Here my daughter was begging me to teach her how to read and I was putting her off.

So we set down, book in hand on the couch and began again. I went through the first few pages and same ole' same ole. She really wasn't getting it. I asked her if she was done (since she was playing with her "knitting") and in the calmest and wisest of tones she said, "No I need you to read it again. Read it again so I can learn. Start from the beginning."

So I did. And then she looked at me and said, "That's good! We will read it again tomorrow so I can learn. I want to go play in my room now."

Wow.

This Moment- Preparing for the feast


{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Inspired by Soule Mama

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Confessions... Focus (Not so Fat Tuesday a Day late)

Ok I didn't write this post yesterday. Honestly I wasn't going to write it at all. I was so angry and frustrated with myself

I gained 3lbs.

And I'm not even going to try to make excuses. I KNOW EXACTLY why I gained the weight. Bloomin' Onion, Snacks, Pumpkin Cream cheese Dip, and a Smore's Cake Dessert. Oh and don't forget the Family Deluxe Pizza that is suppose to feed 6 which fed our family of 4.
Hubby was home so we ATE.

My problem is I give up after one stumble. When I snacked too much at a night out I figured, "What the Hay? I will just have some ginger snaps and dip with the kids, they are making it look soo good." Which turned into, "I'm too tired and behind in my work to cook let's order out." which led to, "Let's just go out to eat after church that way I can make something for dinner."

Pathetic.

Anyways that's how I felt all day yesterday when I jumped on the scales. Which led to more poor choices. But today is a new day. At the suggestion of my friend Angela (did you ever think you would have so much advice Ang? lol) I will not be weighing myself for the rest of the month. Actually I will not weigh myself again until I come back from my trip to North Carolina the first week in Dec. Although this makes me nervous not having evidence of success or failure I think the focus on the failure is too much right now. I was happier celebrating my fitness achievements than my weight.

For instance. Did you know that I have run 68 miles since October 1st? I ran 2.7 miles TODAY! In 33.3 minutes!! And finished it up with some yoga.
Also almost every pair of jeans I have clearly shows in the legs and the butt that there is a bit missing. Most pants I have to hold up. Which is a total shocker for me, the spokeswoman for "Baby Got Back" (hehehe)

I know I need to keep track of my food intake so I am going to spend this time really educating myself on the whole Calorie and Serving subject. I think that information and its implication is tangible enough for me to be satisfied.
I may not lose a tremendous amount of weight but I think I will create a firm foundation and without the pressure of the scales each week. I need to not be under anymore pressure right now.

Or I could be totally off base. In the end I will have learned something which is awesome either way.

And because I am a total nerd here is what I am giddy about right now... :-)



Monday, November 15, 2010

Confessions... I want to remember today forever

Today was a wonderful day here for us. Things went right, nice tones were used, explosions of understanding were happening everywhere. Little hands helped all day preparing pumpkin, bread, and tea. The veil lifts a little more everyday on those most difficult words, definitions, math concepts. And momma got a full workout in. No pictures to prove it all because we were fully engrossed in the moment all day long. But I just want to leave it here... today was a great day.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Weekly Wrapup- Nov 8-12

My, my, the weeks are flying by!!

This week found is doing a bit of "regular work". Mainly, various worksheets and games and of course our journey through Marilyn Burn's books on math. Jakob also discovered a protractor and spent an afternoon just drawing various circles and coloring them in. He made a pretty awesome owl eye when it was all said and done.

Because it has been terribly wet and cold for most of the week we did a lot of talking about the trees instead of experiencing them. We looked through the parts of the trunk, perfected the word "photosynthesis" and inscribed in our minds what that tongue twister means. We also discussed various forms of fuel used for heat (including trees) as we happily watched the oil man come and fill our tank so that we can be warm again!

We went to two play dates this week with Hazel's playgroup and made ornaments, and painted canvases for gifts for Christmas.

Our study of the Native Americans is going a bit slow as this is a subject I decided to go through and not Jakob so there is not a ton of pre-interest to build upon. So I have begun to read the kids a few traditional poems and songs from a book we found at the library and this has definitely sparked some interest as to various tribes, their cultures, and storytelling.
On our weekly trip to the Library I showed Jakob how to read the shelf location of a book and find the subject and asked him to pick me a few books he thinks are interesting on Native Americans. I am hoping that this will broaden both of our knowledge and understanding and interest.

Tuesday's Invention Class is going well and Jakob is really enjoying the various models he
is building and the things he is learning to do. Only downside is Momma doesn't get to see.

Thursday and Friday Daddy was home so we really did the minimal as far as book work goes, visited an Herbal Pharmacy and experienced our very first Hockey Game. All in all the week has been wonderful.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Confessions..... All workout and no Diet Means.....

Momma's scales don't move.
:-(

At least they didn't move up. :-/

And the fact that this is not happy news for me means I really need to get it together. Running has been GREAT! I ran 11 miles last week and plan to do the same this week. 4 of those miles I ran on my Birthday and was joined with people all over on Facebook to run for my 30th. That made me grin ear to ear.

Back to the scales.

I always gravitate more towards exercise than diet because I feel its something I can touch, feel, do. The main thing I should focus on is my diet. Calories in vs calories out. Ugh! I hate to even think about it. But I HAVE to become more conscious of what I am putting in my mouth. And its not the meals... its the snacks.

I have a confession to make.

I. Eat. Chips.

Lots of them. I am a chips and dip girl. Wavy please with ranch dipping sauce. Which is RIDICULOUS!!! The meals I cook are extremely healthy. Case in point my Husband. He's dropped 20lbs since I changed my cooking methods. And you know why? No chips...well not as many as me.

So just like the fast food challenge I am going to challenge myself not to buy any chips and dip for the rest of the month. And that means no crackers either (Tomato Basil Wheat Thins to be exact). This should help me look for healthier snacks and most importantly be aware of what I am eating and not mindlessly eat. Another LOVELY trait of mine.

Ok so to recap. Keep working out like I have been. No Chips. Make sure I eat my happy foods and drink my water. Oh boy. Pray for me this week.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Handmade Holiday Idea... Enlist the Kids

We are rolling right along here making the family's gifts for Christmas.
I wanted to enlist the kids' help to make an extra special gift for My Grand-ma and their Great- Grandma.
Hand prints are an extra special memory of mine and Grandmothers. I remember my Grandma taking me to visit my Great-Grandmother's house many times. Each time we visited two things would happen. She would make Chex Mix and she would trace my hands.
My hand print would be proudly displayed on the refrigerator until the next visit when she would trace them again.
My Great- Grandmother passed when I was in High School but there are so many memories I still hold dear. I want to pass on this tradition in a special way.

And now I present you with the Hand Pillow made mostly by Jakob and Hazel.

Trace Hands onto an appropriate fabric (found this in the remnants sale)
Knot the Yarn (Very important)

Let your little dear sew the lines. It is helpful to use a yarn needle and to have something to keep your own hands busy and let them do THEIR work. ahem I chose to knit :-)

Encourage your kids to finish but gladly take over when they want you to.

Measure, Cut and Pin a back fabric right sides together
Sew. (pic by Jakob)
Turn work rightside out and stuff. Pause to laugh at your Florida dog hovering near the heater... poor puppy
Sew up hole(s) after stuffing and voila!
We are all soo excited with the way these turned out! The only thing I would do differently would be to use either smaller yarn or more "holey" fabric. I picked this idea up from a myriad of places and blogs. I think the one book that talks the most about kids embroidery is Handmade Home by Amanda Soule. She is the author of the beautiful blog Soule Mama.

Friday, November 5, 2010

This Moment- Hubby's first Date with a 30 yr old

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soule Mama

Weekly WrapUp- Nov 1-5

Alright I am personally not having one of my best weeks mood-wise but never-the-less there have been a few bright spots with learning.

Monday - The Pumpkin Fairy came and took the kids candy (can you believe they went for it?) and left some awesome goodies. Jakob's favorite was the handmade parachute kits and spent most of the day in the tree testing them out.

He had Scouts that evening and was very excited to have some of his requirements signed off. Yes.. the birds requirement as well! We were still all pretty hyped on sugar from the night before so other than reading and Calendar time we just played. Oh and per his request he and Hazel spent a while on the computer watching clips from National Geographic on animals. The most memorable was the fight of the Elephant Seal as has been apparent by their reenactments this week.

Tuesday- Our neighbor bought Hazel a full-sized bag of M&Ms for Halloween which meant that is all she wanted for 2 days and although her calling them N&N's was cute we had to do something with them quick or Mommy was really going to lose her cool with Little Bit. I have seen the use of M&Ms for math in various places for years and so we made patterns, counted one to one, and worked on drawing circles and writing M's for her.



Jakob made hypotheses on which color he had the most of, tally marks counting, bar graphing and the like. The biggest achievement was the understanding of multiplication. I have been holding off on this for a while because A) there were other concepts he had not grasped I felt were important and B) I wasn't sure how to make it make sense. Well M&M's did the trick. We made groups and counted them and worked out how to write the number sentence. He impressed me with his reasoning skills and his explanations of how things worked. He did an awesome job.




He also started his Inventions Class at the Natural History Museum and LOVED it!! They learned about the simple machines and drew blueprints of their own inventions that would utilize those specific machines. And I got an hour of knitting in YAY!!

Wednesday- The only day this week we had "regular" routine. We also discussed Tree ecosystems and the definition and importance of a healthy forest.

Thursday- My Birthday. Jakob made me the sweetest card while I ran my "birthday run". We went to story time where Daddy convinced him to choose his next state to research as Texas and they spent the time learning/reminiscing about that "Big Ole' State".
We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory that night (perfect way to negate a four mile run right? lol) and Jakob read, chose and articulated his entire order. While this may not seem like a big deal to some, it was a hug victory for him since he is often timid about speaking up for fear that he will misspeak or "mess up" his words. He's such a perfectionist and it hinders him more often than not in public. But he is growing so much!


Friday- I woke up in the worst mood ever!!! In an effort to shield my kids from my pitiful state, we went to a playgroup playdate and made Pizzas. Jakob was the human toy and "coordinated" little games for the kids to play. This kept them entertained while the Mommy's visited and setup for the pizzas. There was talk of hiring him out for parties. :-) The rest of the day was a wash and after each of us has received and attitude adjustment, hopefully now we can enjoy the weekend and have a more "on track" week next week.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Confessions... Not so Fat Tuesday (aka I'm terrified)

Alright this week I hopped on the scale and YAY 2lbs gone!! I'm sure that has been negated by now with the Chinese *Hubby* HAD to have but that's what the scale said this morning so there! :-) That brings my total weight loss to 7lbs. Yipee!!

So why am I terrified? One word WINTER! This will be our first New England winter and I am scared stiff. I suffer pretty severely from winter blues also known as SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). This is where when it gets cold I become a hermit and never leave the house, bed, my pjs. The irritability and mood swings reach an all time high. It's not pretty. And not very conducive for a fitness and health regime either. The bad part about it is you don't really realize it until Spring when its warm again and you suddenly are in a better mood. You think I'm joking. Go Google it.

So to try and stay on track with my fitness and more importantly being a decent mom to my kids through the winter I have been doing a little research.
Medically I can go to the Doctors and take medication, but I would rather use that as a last resort (me and meds are not good friends).
So my other option is to take things into my own hands and fight for my right for a good mood during this chilly time.
After a few searches I have come up with a plan. Basically your body needs Omega 3-fatty acids, Vitamin D, and all the Vitamin B's. This can be accomplished by 3 or more servings of fish a week, leafy green vegetables and fresh fruit. I have also begun to take these vitamins in pill form so as to offset any transition or lacking in an area. I chose to do this because we are in a season change here and honestly other than pumpkin I have no clue as to whats in season. Our CSA share was only a summer share so now I have to find a new market. Hopefully I can get all of that sorted out soon.
I also have purposefully scheduled more things for us to do which will force me to leave the house. Go ahead laugh, but I already have made Jakob take the recycling out for me because I just couldn't stand the cold, that's not really a biggie but its just the beginning. Even a few moments of fresh air will lighten the mood. Mike is looking into at least one broad spectrum light for the kitchen to stimulate vitamin D.
I will put my years of dabbling with essential oils to good use and make sure I have uplifting and invigorating scents to wear and clean with. All this will help me I know it.

Fitness wise I have decided to push myself. Angela told me a couple of weeks ago that I could increase my distance by 10% each week. I laughed at her. I am going to increase it 10% every two weeks though. My days are beginning to seem better the days I run so I want to push it to my potential. I also am playing with the idea of running on the weekends. I know pick your jaw off the floor Angela and Katie. (Sorry they know me too well)

And of course the best medicine is a SMILE!!


So that's the plan, the success, and the confession. I'm linking up with Nicole this week

Monday, November 1, 2010

Homeschool Goals For November

And here it is a new month. Wow where did October go?
*Sigh*
Ok last month I posted what I wanted to accomplish with Jakob and that was SOOO helpful, and I am happy to report that we accomplished it all. So here is what I have in mind for this month.

Science- Actually begin our study on trees focusing on identifying them, their importance in our community and ecosystem, the parts of a tree, and other activities that satisfy Scouts.
Scientists and Inventors- Jakob's dream is to be an inventor so I *had* to sign him up for the inventor's class at the Museum of Natural History in Providence. They have an afternoon class on Tuesdays for an hour and they will learn about historic inventors and their machines. In case that sparks more interest I have lined up a few other activities and Scientists to explore as well....

Alexander Grahm Bell- Make a soup can phone

Archimedes- Make an Archimedes screw

Benjamin Bannakeer- predictor of an eclipse

John Muir- naturalist, environmentalists

Mae Jemison- first African American woman in space


Reading/ Spelling- Continue to work through Progressive Phonics and use the words featured there as our spelling words

History- Native Americans-

Read Different Stories from Native Americans

Learn about Daily Life, Different Tribes, Clothing, Tools, etc.


Colonial Times-Learn about the Mayflower,

Use- Pilgrims coming to America, How they lived

Magic Tree House Thanksgiving on Thursday and Companion guide.

Geography- Continue with 50 States


Literature- We will use our other subjects as inspiration for our reading as well as continuing our read in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. I am on the lookout for the perfect November poem for him to memorize as well.


Art- This month I have stacked myself full of playdates with our Meetup group that I have sorely missed, so our purposeful art will be basically the crafts we make there and the kids finishing up their gifts to their grandparents.


Math- We are using books by Marylin Burns that we have gotten from the library and will continue to use them as our math inspiration as well as a few well place worksheets. I cannot tell you how much I am loving her inspiration!


Handwork- The kids will make their gifts as well has help out with Thanksgiving Dinner. Daily handwork always includes their chores such as sweeping, folding clothes, and scrubbing based on the chore of the day.


Calendar Time- More fingerplays and songs are being incorporated for Hazel's sake and we are now counting at least up to 10 in Spanish. We may go higher.


Bible- We will continue the first two weeks with the themes from a book I use and then the last two weeks we will utilize this site for Thankful lessons.


Hazel is still playing along as she sees fit. Last week I was ALMOST ready to say, "That's it girl you are getting some work." But then she wrote her name...in a line...not all over the page. I was impressed. She has also been coloring a lot here lately another skill I was beginning to wonder if it would ever emerge. Silly mommy.


I believe that is sufficient. It looks like a lot for us as we often get sidetracked with the "thought of the day" that usually has us exploring new information and mommy scrambling for resources on subjects I never knew existed. But I like it this way. We are learning what he loves with a little "standards" thrown in for good measure.






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